Charlie Miller, of Express Employment in Champaign, said there are more people who are looking for work in the area now than there were last summer, and opportunities in skilled trades are especially booming. At the same time, Miller said a reshuffling in which people want different jobs is still very much underway — and the hospitality industry is particularly feeling the pinch.

Plans call for addressing anywhere from 600 to 800 wells, or up to 20% of abandoned oil and gas wells in Illinois. Funding from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will allow the state to pursue such plans.

The waiver lifts a Clear Air Act requirement that lower-volatility gasoline be sold in the states during summer months to limit ozone pollution. It is in effect until Sept. 15, the EPA said.

“The University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs has released a report examining the debt in the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund…Illinois unemployment was higher during the pandemic than other states, and we recently learned that more than half of the unemployment funds paid out by the state may have gone to fraudulent actors rather than unemployed Illinoisans who needed the help.”

Student clinicians will take on real First Amendment cases, mainly from the Midwest, focusing on the freedom of speech, press and assembly provisions of the amendment. Like other UI clinics, students will handle all aspects of the case — identifying clients, filing initial complaints, and going to trial if necessary — under supervision of an experienced attorney.

A progressive social media publication which supported Democratic candidate Alexi Giannoulias in the race for Illinois Secretary of State has been hit with a defamation lawsuit for promoting allegedly false claims that a prominent and politically connected Chicago health care executive had steered a $15 million contract to the husband of Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, who was Giannoulias’ rival in the contest to be the Democratic nominee.

The apparent intent of the state’s policy against selling conditional licenses was to keep minorities and social equity license holders from selling out before even beginning operations. But owners say that keeps them from using their greatest asset, shares of ownership in the license, and they should have the same rights as business owners in other industries.

When Michigan and Illinois decided to legalize recreational cannabis use, the debate mostly centered not on what might happen to demand but on the benefits of decriminalization and new tax revenues. A new study supported by the National Institutes for Health has found that marijuana and hallucinogen use among young adults reached an all-time high last year. There is the distinct matter of whether this new industry should be allowed to be so successful as to dominate the vistas of the interstates and spark the kind of increase in demand for its products the NIH-supported

Congress is close to passing the biggest wildlife protection bill in 50 years; The Senate bill proposes using federal environmental penalties to pay for the protection measures. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is expected to receive more than $24 million to protect Illinois wildlife habitat and fund projects such as those that are designated in the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan.

In 2020, 75 hate crimes were reported in Illinois compared to 65 reported cases in 2019. Rep. Patrick Windhorst understood that neither the SAFE-T Act or the Pretrial Fairness Act would determine hate crime offenders to be detainable, which would allow the alleged perpetrator to be released within 48 hours.

“Prosecution agencies don’t want help,” Retired judge Mike McCuskey said. “This is not a prosecuting office, never has been, never will (be), here or in any of the 50 states in the United States.” McCuskey said his office has received complaints against 40 state lawmakers and their staffers during his first six months on the job; He said none showed wrongdoing.

IDOT spent approximately $41.3 million statewide on litter and debris pickup in 2021. According to a video created by IDOT, that cost is equivalent to resurfacing 21 miles of road or buying 261 more trucks to plow snow.

Kyle Thompson, regional superintendent at Regional Office of Education #11 in Charleston, said many parents in his corner of the state are not opposed to offering high school students a “traditional,” biology-based sex ed program, but said families “don’t want all of this other new stuff…Some of this is very graphic, even for kids who are 9 to 11 years old. The state wants more, but that’s not going to fly where I’m from, and this is a battle parents are willing to fight.”